


Youngster Flayn wants to fight!

by inRemote



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Flayn wants her first Pokémon but has an overbearing dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:21:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22271764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inRemote/pseuds/inRemote
Summary: Flayn is sick of watching other people leaving home to begin their adventures as Pokémon trainers, and she wants in. Seteth can't keep saying no forever, but he can definitely make it difficult for her. Luckily, Flayn is friends with the local Professor, who has a mind to help her out.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 39





	Youngster Flayn wants to fight!

**Author's Note:**

> This was a secret santa present for Fish on the Monster Mash discord. She likes Pokémon and she likes Flayn, so I had this galaxy brain genius idea. Please enjoy!

Flayn sighs, casts her rod out, and tries again.

“Perhaps this time.”

She didn’t know how Professor Eisner made it look so easy. The fishing, that is. For someone who claimed to have no particular preference for types, she spent a lot of time around the water. She had said the experience was relaxing, but Flayn saw nothing relaxing about this. Instead, she found her frustration growing. But she had to keep at it.

That had been the deal. Seteth had agreed to allow Flayn to become a trainer, under one condition. She had to catch her own first pokémon by herself. No handouts. Flayn had always wanted some kind of aquatic pokémon. A Finneon, perhaps. Or a Wishiwashi. So she’d turned to Professor Eisner for help. The professor had agreed to teach Flayn how to fish - it turned out Flayn, despite her love for fish, had little natural aptitude for it - and had even lent Flayn her Espurr to help.

That same Espurr sat nearby, motionless, staring at the back of Flayn’s head. Professor Eisner had told her that Bergamot would have no issues following her orders in battle, but would maybe be a little unsettling. She had not lied. Bergamot made the professor’s wide-eyed stares seem positively warm.

“Bergamot,” she said, tentatively. “I very much appreciate your company, but could you perhaps focus your attention elsewhere, so I may concentrate?”

No response. She sighed.

It wasn’t that Flayn’s efforts had been entirely without result. She’d caught a handful of pokémon already. Magikarps. All Magikarps. Flayn loved Magikarp. But if she returned to Seteth with nothing to show but a Magikarp, she suspected she might be sent back out the door to try again.

But apart from those false starts, her rod had picked up nothing. She would’ve suspected the lake had nothing to find, had it not been Professor Eisner’s personal recommendation. Something about “unusual finds”, if one “had enough patience”. Well, Flayn had patience, but she was beginning to think the patience Byleth had was beyond natural. Hours, she’d been here. Hours! And with nothing to show!

“Oh, this is a nonsense!”

She placed the rod on its stand (another thing she’d borrowed), and flung her arms out, falling back onto the soft grass beneath her with an exaggerated sigh. She knew she had to keep at it. This was everything she’d ever wanted, after all. She’d had to watch as all of her friends had left home, taking their first partners with them into the world beyond the sleepy town of Nabatea. Some of them had even gone on to beat gym leaders! And she had been genuinely happy for them, each time. But she had wanted to go, too. She wanted her own adventures, instead of hearing about other people’s. There was a whole world out there, filled with experiences, challenges and new partners just waiting for her.

But Seteth was very protective. And he had his reasons. After her mother had died, Flayn was really the only family he had. Aunt Rhea - Champion Rhea - was more of a distant relationship than “aunt” would suggest, and she was far too busy in Garreg Mach with important Pokémon League business to spend much time with them. Seteth split his time between them, and ended up not spending enough time with _either_.

So yes, he was clingy. Very much so. But Flayn was growing up, and as much as she loved her father dearly, she couldn’t keep sacrificing her dreams for her father’s feelings. She had told him as much, after what must’ve been the hundredth time they’d had the same argument. Apparently that hit something deep inside him, because the next day he had shown up with the professor at his side and given his ultimatum.

Flayn had been elated. But it was still an extra hurdle. All of her friends had been given their first partners as gifts, as was the custom. But like most things in her life, Seteth had wanted to make sure she was _ready_. So here she was, next to this stupid lake, with her stupid fishing rod-

Which seemed to be shaking at an alarming pace.

“Oh, no!”

Flayn bolted upright, grabbing the rod just before it could be pulled free of the stand. Furiously, she reeled against the tugging, harder than she really needed to. Whatever was on the other side wasn’t particularly strong, and it was only a few seconds before it broke the water with a splash, landing on the shore next to Flayn.

It took her a moment to realise what had emerged. It was no Magikarp, but it may as well have been - a Feebas, far rarer but just as useless. She fell to her knees. She’d never get to be a trainer at this rate. Had Seteth set her up? Had he told Byleth to send her here knowing she would never find a partner? She could head into the forest and find a Pidove or similar with relative ease, but the water had always called to her. Like it had her mother. This felt... Important. Like she had to do it this way.

She wiped a tear from her eye. Whether it was frustration or sentiment, she didn’t really know. Time to return the poor Feebas to the water-

“Ah, Flayn. You’re still here.”

Flayn nearly jumped out of her skin. She looked over her shoulder, startled. Byleth was right there. It was hardly the first time her silent nature had let her sneak up on Flayn, and it didn’t help that Byleth didn’t even seem to realise she was doing it. It still gave Flayn a start every time.

“Professor Eisner! You scared me!”

The professor gave her the smallest of smiles, as much as she ever seemed to manage. Her expressions were always muted, but if you paid attention, you could tell what she was conveying. This time, she seemed content with herself.

“I see you’ve found what I sent you here for.”

Flayn turned to see the Feebas floundering helplessly on the ground less than a foot away from her. “Forgive me, Byleth, but I do not understand. Father wanted me to find a suitable partner for my journey. I do not mean to question your judgement, but surely a Feebas is insufficient for that purpose?”

Professor Eisner shook her head slightly, leaving Flayn unenlightened. “Mmm. We won’t be needing Bergamot for this one.” She let her backpack fall to the ground, searching the chaos within to find a pokéball. Flayn vaguely recognised the type - a Nest Ball? Designed for the weakest pokémon? Had she planned this?

Before she could inquire further, Professor Eisner had thrown the ball at the Feebas, which disappeared into it in a flash of red light. Its efforts to break free barely registered from the outside. Flayn _still_ couldn’t figure out what was happening.

“Professor Eisner... Byleth, please. What exactly are you doing?”

Byleth ignored her, clearly more focussed on what she was doing. She thumbed the ball, and in a flash, the Feebas was free again. Byleth kneeled next to it, affixing something to it. Flayn leaned in closer to get a better look. It was a beautiful, fluorescent scale. And then, once again, it disappeared into the ball.

Flayn looked up at the professor, mystified, and getting a little irritated. “Byleth, please explain to me what is happening!”

Byleth turned to her, that smile back on her face again. “Hold out your hand, Flayn.”

Flayn did as she told, though unsure why. Byleth grasped the bottom of Flayn’s hand firm in one of her own, and with the other, placed the pokéball firmly in Flayn’s hand.

“This is yours now. Normally trades are a one-for-one situation, but we’ll let that slide this time.”

Flayn looked down at the ball. Why had the professor gone through such a roundabout way to give her such a helpless pokémon? Why had she insisted on trading it-

“Oh. Is it-”

Byleth was still smiling. “Go on. Open it.”

Cautiously, Flayn pressed the release on the ball. The light that lanced out of it onto the ground was Feebas-shaped, but only for a brief moment. It started to morph, grow, seeking a new form. Of course! Flayn had read about Pokémon evolving through trade! And the scale had been a catalyst! And now-

The light pulsed once, almost too bright to look at, and then faded. In its place stood a beautiful sea serpent. A Milotic.

“Oh, Byleth! It’s incredible!”

Flayn ran forward involuntarily, throwing her arms around the Milotic - her pokémon - and squeezed. The pokémon seemed uncomfortable, having barely met its new owner, but it didn’t pull away. It really was hers.

She finally drew away, and felt Byleth place a hand on her shoulder. “It was kind of a lesson, I suppose. Doing the professor bit. Don’t dismiss the potential of anything you find. Even weak pokémon may surprise you. Just like you’re going to surprise Seteth.”

Flayn felt a grin rise unbidden to her mouth. “You wanted to show him up as much as I did, didn’t you?”

Byleth looked away, her face returning to its regular blankness. Flayn had definitely called her out. “I couldn’t possibly say. I was just doing a good friend a favour.”

Flayn - almost reluctantly - returned her new pokémon to its ball. They spent the next few minutes packing up the fishing equipment, Flayn excitedly rambling about her new partner. “I’ll need to think of a name for her - it is a her, I think? And imagine the gym leaders, expecting a newcomer, and seeing a Milotic! Oh, Father is going to be speechless when he sees this!”

Byleth smiled once again, this time fondly. “Let’s hope so.”

**Author's Note:**

> Find me at @scunnerfisk and @scunnerfan on Twitter Dot Com


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